


from seas of old

by no_thoughts_just_cryptid



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: AU, Bisexual Harry, Deamus, Drarry, F/F, F/M, M/M, Pirate AU, Pirates, Trans Neville, bisexual Ginny, lesbian pansy, linny - Freeform, she/they ginny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27819151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/no_thoughts_just_cryptid/pseuds/no_thoughts_just_cryptid
Summary: ginny left her family and lord harry, who was to court her, to pursue a life at sea. she leads an adventurous life and has a wonderful crew. but when one of her crewmates leaves to get married, she comes across an old friend at the wedding.
Relationships: Draco/Pansy, Ginny/Luna, Seamus/Dean, implied Harry/Draco
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> written in diary format. characters obviously not my own. wont meet luna for a few chapters.

July 28th, 1705

I’ve been at sea for 2 months already since the last time i stopped at home. The salt from the surrounding sea is ever-present in my nostrils and on my skin. My hair is bleached by the sun. I really ought to crop it soon, for it is getting too long to manage during my day to day duties and activities. It reaches my buttocks right now, longer than it’s ever been, and yet even trimming off the thinned out ends feels like an ending.  
It hasn’t been cut since I went to sea, leaving my old life and my old family behind. Left Harry behind. My feelings are odd, on this particular topic, as while I do miss my brothers, my mother and father, my life, I swore at a young age to never have a regret. My life at sea is exciting, and my being a woman does not restrict me as it would if i had remained in london as a commoner, nor as it would if i had gone off with lord harry. While i did enjoy him and his company, a lord's wife, however kind and frankly sort of ridiculous a lord he may be, is not a path designed for a woman like me, if a woman is what someone such as myself would even be called.  
While the term woman may be technically correct to describe me as, it has never been a word that connected with me on a personal level. However i feel not as a man, and not like anything else in particular, simply slightly off from woman. Yes, slightly off from woman. That would be an adequate term to describe my gender.  
I've met others in the world of piracy who’ve wanted nothing to do with the constraints of the modern idea of gender, the modern roles of gender, who’ve taken on piracy as an escape from such trivial and small ideas. When i’d first encountered first mate Neville, he’d been a well tempered and rather nervous noble lady on a ship travelling from england to spain, however he’d soon joined our crew and opened up about the way he wished to dress and be referred to. He is an excellent crewmate and frankly if he hadn’t joined the ship we wouldn’t be nearly as successful as we are today. He took about a week or so to get used to the ship, he was always too gentle with the sails, almost afraid of them, however he soon took charge and was a clear natural. He’s more confident and happy out at sea than i’ve ever seen him on land or in a town.  
I might add that i began writing this journal in a leather bound and empty book found in the lower deck of a ship we raided a week ago. No other crewmate wanted it, as they are all either illiterate, born into the world of piracy who’ve never had a need or desire to read or write, or simply had no wish to write about their lives, because who would care? Who would read it? And what is the point of writing something, let alone something such as a journal, if no one is to ever read it? These are questions i know not the answer to, however writing is an escape for me, as piracy, however much i may enjoy it, is not something seen as particularly relaxing, instead quite the opposite.  
Other things we acquired off the ship listed in my record book, which should be sitting near this one on my captain’s desk. Oh yes, of course it is important to note, i am the captain.


	2. Chapter 2

It’s a sunny day today. Neville somehow managed to convince crewmates Dean, Seamus, and Oliver to go out for a swim with him. I’ve stopped trying to convince him not to, because while it is dangerous, what isn’t when you’re a first rate pirate patrolling around Europe and the Meditteranean? While they were out there, i climbed up to the crow’s nest* and read a small paperback I stole from a shop in a town we stopped in last week. While the crow’s nest isn’t a particularly large space, and therefore not particularly comfortable for reading, it’s high up, and makes me feel strong and powerful, a feeling I still crave despite being a pirate for 2 years.   
My book is about a lady, a rather strange and yet soft spoken and lady-like lady, who finds herself kidnapped by vicious pirates thirsty for both her gold and her blood. They hold her ransom until her tall and equally blond fiance arrives and fights off the pirates, killing the entire crew in cold blood and taking the captain to the queen of spain, who has him executed soon after. It’s disturbing to read, as it is clearly written as a warning to the public that pirates are terrible and bloodthirsty, and you should never let your wives and daughters out at sea without you. Most of it is untrue, as we have no desire for blood, only the money of those with enough to spare. Okay, and maybe we’ll give a good scare to a young woman on occasion, but no real harm is ever done. Its funny how the fiance is the only one who ever kills anyone, and yet we’re the bad guys.   
While i was up reading, my only other lady crewmate, Pansy, joined me, and we spoke of records and of business before she announced out of nowhere that she was leaving our crew. I asked her why. She said that she had met a gentleman a few towns back and he had written to her several times. They were to be married and move to france to start a family. She told me he knew not of her history of piracy and promised not to tell him of us, nor to turn us in, and we were all invited to her wedding, which would take place in her hometown in northern ireland. I’ve known pansy for almost the entire time i’ve been at sea and she’d never spoken of gentlemen or marriage or any of it. In fact, i’ve always thought that she’d fancied not men but women, as she’d told me of women she’d done certain unladylike things with in towns we’d stopped in. she’d even told me that she had at one point fancied me, albeit briefly, after which i couldn’t look her in the eye for the rest of the day out of embarrassment.   
Not that i’ve anything against that particular brand of sodomy. I too have fallen ill with love for a girl, a childhood friend named Luna who had gone off and married a gentleman she’d met while on a grand tour of Europe, as well as fancying multiple merchant ladies in towns we’ve stopped in. i was frightened of it at first, before i found a book of poems in a cramped little bookstore last time i was in london containing an interesting little poem by a greek poet by the name of Sappho, who wrote of women and certain desires pertaining to them.  
I gave that book to Pansy, actually. I wonder if i could get it back before she marries that gentleman. Although it is rather rude for me to as for a gift back so perhaps i won’t. I may be able to find another book like that when we go to her wedding. I may also need to find something suitable to wear, as the clothes my crew and i wear as of now aren’t exactly wedding proper, especially a wedding to the type of gentleman Pansy is to marry.   
No raids or anything at all today. Very slow.


	3. Chapter 3

August 12th, 1705

We have started heading north for Pansy’s wedding. While we do not always get along, I really do believe I will miss her. And now we’ll need to replace her as well. I want another woman, or even better, a slightly off from woman like myself. Everyone else in my crew is a man, and I will miss having a lady friend to speak and connect with. As much as I enjoy the company of men, women are one of the greatest gifts this world has to offer.   
We will not be raiding any ships on our way to Ireland, as such a thing delays us, and we are already short on time as Pansy waited quite a long time to tell us of her plan. We have enough funds to keep ourselves fed and watered as well as to buy us each new clothes for Pansy’s wedding, albeit not the nicest clothing Ireland has to offer but still more formal than what we wear day to day. I am looking forward to it, as despite my occupation and politics in regards to women, I have quite a taste for the feminine and enjoy such things as bright colors and fancy dresses.   
Perhaps this liking for the feminine comes from my wearing men’s clothes almost every day, for trousers are simply more practical for what I do. Or maybe it comes from being rather poor until meeting lord Harry. It may come from being raised around boys, almost being treated as one of them, as wonderful as that was. Regardless of the cause, I like to feel pretty, and find my stays and petticoats to be less restraining and more something that helps me feel beautiful, when the occasion arises.   
Pansy is getting married in a catholic church. She is not actively religious, however i believe the gentleman she met is and her entire family is extremely catholic, as everyone in that part of Ireland is. She is wearing a wedding dress that belonged to her grandmother, very old fashioned, she sketched it for me. She told me when she was a little girl she would always go and look at it but she was never allowed to touch it. She was very close with her grandmother, not nearly as close to her parents. She saved her dress for her wedding. She never even let her mother get married in it. She will look very beautiful. Her fiance is a very lucky man.   
It was sunny again today, so in between managing the ship we spent the day lounging about on deck. We took turns attempting to sketch each other, except Dean and Pansy were the only ones who were particularly good at it.   
After that, we took turns telling funny stories about made up people in ridiculous situations. By the time we finished we were all laughing so hard our stomachs hurt. It was a good day.


	4. Chapter 4

August 20th, 1705

We arrived in northern Ireland early this morning, while the sun was still rising and we were still sore from exhaustion. We aren’t people who sleep in, however this was earlier than even we were used to.   
I hadn’t been to Pansy’s town for quite a while. Its a beautiful place, really, with lovely hills and buildings and people everywhere. We stopped at a small bakery where Pansy’s old childhood friend worked for a while and had some of the best puffs i’ve had in a very long time.   
Soon after, Pansy took me to her mother and father’s townhouse. The boys did not accompany us, as this was to be only for her and her bridesmaids. I was rather flattered when she told me this, for the only other woman in this role was the childhood friend with the bake shop. She showed us her grandmother's wedding gown, which was even more beautiful in person than in the sketch she showed us. We are to wear dresses of a similar style, but with less intricate embroidery and lace and a bit more modern in shape. It had been a long time since i’d worn anything similar, and i almost didn’t recognize myself in the mirror.   
Since pansy’s hair is a bit shorter, just reaching her bust, she will simply be plaiting it back with some of the flowers from the garden in the backyard.   
She will not be having a party before, despite her mother begging her to let her host one. She told her she simply doesn’t have enough lady friends. However knowing Pansy, a fancy party for the delicate and ladylike as she will be expected to be is simply not her forte. She was a pirate, after all. That will never change.   
As i forgot to mention before, we also met Pansy’s fiance, a tall and blond fellow with a quiet and sober temperance by the name of Draco. I would never tell Pansy this of course, but i believe that there may be something more going on with this marriage. Ive never seen Pansy have any sort of attraction to a person of male occupation. I’ve only seen her fancy women. And while i do believe it is possible and even rather common for one to be attracted to more that one gender, i do not believe that is the case here. While i hate to make bold accusations purely on appearance and first impression, i do not believe draco to be attracted to Pansy at all. In fact, i saw him making a suspicious amount of eye contact with Seamus, who, being in a steady sexual and romantic relationship with Dean, was trying to avoid as much as possible. It remains a rather peculiar situation, yes.   
Pansy’s parents set the boys up in a small inn in town. They lent me their guest bedroom, as i will be a part of the wedding and they wish to know me better. As much as i tend to experience discomfort with domestic life, her parents are very kind. They don’t have much money, however they have more than my family did before my courtship with lord Harry. No one in her family went to university, however her parents are clever and very well read. The walls are covered in cheap paperback books in a variety of subjects, art, alchemy, even some shakespeare, an author i could never force myself to enjoy.   
We ate dinner at the inn with the boys and then drinks at the townhouse. Cheap whiskey, but strong, and as someone who doesn’t drink regularly, i was tipsy after only 2 drinks.   
I will quit writing now, as i have a headache and need sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

August 26th, 1705 

We have been in Ireland for almost a week. The wedding is tomorrow, it is half past midnight now. Pansy did not have a party, however her mother purchased some rather fancy wine imported from France, which she, pansy, the childhood friend, and myself enjoyed while reminiscing about pansy (within reason, of course. Her mother knows not about the way she has been living, she has been under the impression that she has been a records keeper for a traveller throughout europe. I am a lady friend she met in britain. I know not what she believes the boys to be, although I'm certain it is something far more tame than the truth.)  
To the party I wore an evening dress borrowed from Pansy’s mother. A simple thing, pale blue with a skirt slightly too short for me, showing my boots. I was unable to borrow a pair of proper shoes as my feet were nowhere near the right size, and i only had enough money to purchase a single pair for the wedding itself that matched my bridesmaid dress. I must go now, as I only had a moment, for I am very busy with wedding preparations. 

While I normally would not write more than once per day, if that, I have some astonishing information I recently found whilst copying down the guest list from the small slip of parchment to the fancy paper that will be displayed at the ceremony and corresponding reception. There were multiple names I recognized on the list, however there were a few particularly noteworthy. For one, Lord Harry, and the lady to whom he is married, as well as his father. I asked about it and as it turns out he is an old school friend of Draco’s, a close one. Another is my childhood friend, Luna Lovegood, a strange and adventurous young girl whose sharp wit and broad imagination got her sent to finishing school in Sweden. Her father had not quite enough money to send her, however he got a loan from a bank with the promise that she would find a husband with wealth who could pay it back. She returned from school briefly before going on a grand tour of Europe, but I had already gone to sea by this point and therefore have not seen her in multiple years.   
I heard she had a husband, however, a clever and equally adventurous fellow by the name of Terry. I’d not had the opportunity to meet him, but I had heard of their adventures across Europe and eventually Asia. luna, a very smart woman, has had the ability to pick up foreign languages very quickly ever since we were very young. It was not even a bit surprising to hear that rather than maintaining the ladylike lifestyle she was taught at school.   
I remember one time, we must have been about 10, we had wandered away from home into a part of london we’d not seen before. Near the river, but further west than we would usually end up. We found some little girls our own age, poorer even than my family. We tried to talk to them, however they didn’t speak any english. However we got along regardless and played for hours, even finding our way back there the next day, playing with them again. We spent so much time over there over the following weeks. We learned they were German, some of the few Germans their age in London.   
After only a few weeks of playing with them, Luna was able to pick up enough of the language to hold a polite conversation simply from listening to them speak to each other. It was truly incredible.   
Yes, I am looking forward greatly to seeing Luna again, for even in my years of piracy, I've not met a single soul like her.


	6. Chapter 6

The wedding was last night. It was a beautiful yet simple ceremony with few guests. Draco and Pansy seem to get along well, however there still seems to be a lack of true passion for each other. I’ve no clue why Mr. Malfoy is interested in Pansy at all, for as I've said before I'm fairly certain he has far more interest in gentlemen than ladies. Pansy also does not have much money, so there’s no real financial benefit for him to link their two families.   
I spoke to Pansy about it. She was understandably defensive, but as she knows me well and knows I'm leaving again soon regardless, she told me, although in rather vague terms, that this was a deal she made with him. Her parents had been writing to her, telling her she must find a suitor soon or live to be an embarrassment to the family. She is not the type to care an excessive amount about the thoughts of others about her, however she confided in me that she had already been considering leaving the life she’d been leading for such a long time, for reasons I know not, and must be married in order to make her way in this world.  
Mr. Malfoy was a man she met who she got along with, they had good conversation and made eachother laugh and think, and neither of them were remotely interested in the opposite sex. This way, they could both tell their parents they were married, and yet have as many affairs as they pleased, with full permission from each other. And they could live together as roommates in day to day life, as friends. A rather clever plan, i do say, however not remotely surprising coming from someone as clever as Pansy.   
And so the mystery is closed.  
I saw luna and her husband at the wedding. She was very polite with everyone, as she must have learnt at school, however the light and the adventure was still in her eyes, and in our conversation.  
Her husband is just as adventurous, if a bit more restrained, at least with me. Understandably. As those two must have learned by now, letting their true colors show in the wrong company is not exactly the best way to get by in proper society. Not that the likes of me would be considered proper society, however the point still stands.   
We did not get a chance to talk alone, however. Her husband was there for almost the entire time, save the time he went to go get champagne for us in small flutes. And even then, we were in a group of around five people, none of whom i knew, so we did not get a real chance to catch up for real. I intend to speak with her more before we leave tomorrow afternoon.   
The boys certainly had a good time at the wedding. Dean and Seamus, despite being unable to dance with each other, made eye contact my mother would not approve of while dancing with faceless girls from the crowd. Neville found a shy looking young woman with spectacles and brought her out of her shell to talk to him, making her laugh probably harder than she ever had in her life. Oliver, quite the charmer, dramatically bowed and offered a dance to me, to which I of course obliged. He’s a terrible dancer. Unsurprisingly. One cannot be the worst actor in Pirate Ship Theatre and a good dancer simultaneously. It is simply not possible. However we had fun and he smiled and we laughed the whole time at how ridiculous he was. For the first time, I wondered if perhaps he may fancy me. However knowing Oliver and the sorts of women he generally has that certain affection for, I strongly doubt I am of his interest at all. A good thing, too, for if Oliver were to fancy me that would not make life on deck any easier.   
Speaking of life on deck, we will soon need another person to replace our dearly departed Pansy. I say that as though she has died in some sort of tragic freak accident on the night of her wedding. This is not true. Pansy is still alive. Although we do still need to replace her.   
I tried looking around at the wedding, although the types who attended seemed far too happy to ever join a pirates crew. However, there are two people I could consider asking. I just… I don't want it to come to that. I don't believe that spending day to day life with a young woman I may in fact still have certain affections for and her husband is something I want to have to deal with. We’ll see.


End file.
